Story by
Sporting Jax hires first women's soccer coach: Learn more about selection from SEC
- Story by
- Sporting Jax hires first women's soccer coach: Learn more about selection from SEC
(This story has been updated to add a photo and to add new information.)
Stacey Balaam knows soccer passion.
In her next stop in the sport, she's hoping to bring that drive from across the Atlantic to the First Coast.
Advertisement
"I come from a culture where, when you grow up, you get attached to a team, and that becomes your family," said Balaam, originally from Suffolk in England. "And that's who you support for the rest of your life, and that's what we're hoping here in Jacksonville."
Bringing a lifetime steeped in soccer on both sides of the ocean, Vanderbilt University assistant Balaam stepped into the role of first Sporting Club Jacksonville head coach for women's soccer during a Wednesday press conference at the University of North Florida.
Balaam, 39, will lead Sporting Jax in its inaugural women's soccer season in the USL Super League. The Sporting Jax women are scheduled to kick off in the top-division league this August at UNF's Hodges Stadium.
The organization, which includes Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and Jacksonville Jaguars Hall of Fame finalist Fred Taylor in its ownership group, received its USL Super League franchise in May 2023.
Advertisement
For club head of soccer and sporting director Mark Warburton, the connection with Balaam started when he contacted her to evaluate a prospective player signing.
"The more I spoke to Stacey about the game about her subject knowledge,about her passion for the game, her understanding and knowledge of how players develop and learn and thrrve, I realized that Stacey was the outstanding candidate," Warburton said. "She possessed a spark for the job, a desire to bring the women's game forward, which we have to do. And I think she's a perfect candidate for us."
Stacey Balaam is introduced as Sporting Jax women's soccer coach on April 2, 2025.
Stacey Balaam file
Originally, Balaam came to the United States to play college soccer at the University of Montevallo, where she twice earned All-American honors and eventually a berth in the school's athletic hall of fame in a 25-goal, 50-assist career at the NCAA Division II program in Alabama.
Advertisement
She coached at North Georgia and then had a six-year tenure in charge at West Georgia, before making the move to the Vanderbilt staff under Darren Ambrose in 2023.
Her combination of youth and collegiate experience was a plus for Sporting Jax technical consultant and former University of Florida national champion Becky Burleigh.
Sporting Jax head women's coach Stacey Balaam speaks during her introductory press conference at UNF Arena on April 2, 2025. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
"I think the biggest thing for us was we wanted somebody who is willing to be Innovative, somebody who was willing to be courageous in taking the first step with a new program, somebody who also wanted to be in that role, didn't fear it at all, almost relished that opportunity," Burleigh said. "And you know, I think it's a young person's game. A startup is a young person's game, and I'm excited that we have a young person behind us."
Advertisement
In Jacksonville, she becomes the 23rd active coach in professional women's soccer (the ninth in the USL Super League, plus 14 in the National Women's Soccer League) and only the seventh woman in that group.
Balaam now begins the task of assembling a coaching staff and building a roster over the next four months, leading up to the first top-flight professional women's sports kickoff in Jacksonville history.
"She's definitely an up and coming coach destined for good things," Sporting Jax president Steve Livingstone said.
SPORTING JAX: WHAT'S NEXT?
(Left to right) Sporting Club Jacksonville president Steve Livingstone, technical consultant Becky Burleigh, head women's coach Stacey Balaam, sporting director Mark Warburton and co-owner Ricky Caplin line up at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium on April 2, 2025. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union]
While the women's team now has its first coach and an opening-season home at UNF, the search continues for the first sideline leader of the Sporting Jax men's team, which targets a 2026 kickoff in the second-level USL Championship. Sporting Jax last month hired former Glasgow Rangers manager Warburton as sporting director and head of soccer, placing him in charge of the coach selection process.
Advertisement
The men's team, which received its USL franchise in August 2022, also has yet to confirm the venue for its inaugural season.
Team president Livingstone said the club is continuing to evaluate sites across Northeast Florida for the eventual development of a 15,000-seat stadium.
Meanwhile, the on-field countdown is on for Jacksonville's first women's match, with the date of summer's season opener still to be confirmed.
The USL Super League, which kicked off in 2024, is currently amid a tightly-packed title race late in its first year. Only four points separate the top four clubs: Carolina Ascent, Brooklyn FC, Fort Lauderdale United and Dallas Trinity.
Advertisement
Next up for Balaam: Hiring assistants and ultimately signing players.
"We're going to move pretty fast, because we have to get everything in order and we've got to have that preparation so that we're ready for when we all report in for July 1," she said.
The roster assembly process will take time. Because the USL Super League does not include a college or expansion draft, the club is focusing some of its initial energy on scouting for its seven permitted international player spots.
But the work is already underway toward the beginning of preseason camp in three months.
"This is going to be the talk of the town for a while," Balaam said. "It's a new thing."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sporting Jax hires Stacey Balaam as women's soccer head coach
